Route 66 fans often use Street View on Google Maps to vicariously travel the Mother Road, as this demonstration video from 2010 shows:
Now, Street View has arrived at one of the most popular side trips for Route 66 travelers — Grand Canyon National Park.
According to Google’s official blog today, Google Maps now offers more than 75 miles of the Grand Canyon’s trails and roads in a 360-degree panoramic images.
Google didn’t use camera-equipped cars this time, but hikers with camera-equipped backpacks. It posted this demonstration video of its Grand Canyon efforts:
Google wrote:
This breathtaking imagery collection was made possible with the Trekker. Our team strapped on the Android-operated 40-pound backpacks carrying the 15-lens camera system and wound along the rocky terrain on foot, enduring temperature swings and a few muscle cramps along the way. Together, more than 9,500 panoramas of this masterpiece of nature are now available on Google Maps.
So no matter where you are, you don’t have to travel far or wait for warmer weather to explore Grand Canyon National Park. Check out some of our favorite views on our World Wonders site where you can find more information, facts and figures about the Grand Canyon, or in the updated Street View gallery, and happy (virtual) hiking!
It wouldn’t surprise me to see a few of Google’s hikers take on La Bajada Hill in New Mexico or some of the more-obscure alignments of Route 66 in future projects.